Alone Together
Alone Together is the fifteenth episode of Ben 10: Alien Force. Plot While the team fights a Highbreed commander, it attempts to escape by entering a teleporter pod. In an attempt to halt his escape, Kevin throws a rock at the teleporter pod, which causes it to malfunction and beam Echo Echo and the the commander away. They end up on the desert planet Turrawuste, that acts as a routing station for the teleporter. After a small dispute they are attacked by a Dravek. After a struggle, the combined effort of several Echo Echo clones Sonic Screaming and the Highbreed firing quills the Dravek is subdued. Echo Echo declares the two of them need to stick together as neither of them could defeat the monster on their own. The Highbreed watches Echo Echo scratching his butt and refuses to be in the presence of a creature as filthy as him. After hearing this Echo Echo slaps the Omnitrix and transforms back into Ben, however the Highbreed feels this is even worse. Eventually Ben and the Highbreed come to an agreement to travel to the teleport pod (as Echo Echo had previously detected it using his echolocation), given that Ben kept "ten paces behind". Ben frequently tries to bond with the Highbreed by making conversation, but is continuously given the cold shoulder. Before long the Highbreed collapses from the heat and begins to wither, so Ben transforms into Big Chill to cool the Highbreed down. As Big Chill blows his icy breath on him, the Highbreed demands that Big Chill stop helping him. Fed up, Big Chill leaves the Highbreed to get a drink of water, after spotting some glistening in the distance. As he cups his hands into the pool to take a sip, the ground begins to move and the jaws of another Dravek emerge from the ground and close over him. Big Chill returns to the Highbreed and states it was a trap, which he is unsurprised by, knowing that "gullible prey can be lured by the correct bait". They try to fight the Dravek with Big Chill turning intangible and entering the Draveks mouth to freeze him, however this proves ineffective. The Highbreed instead tells Big Chill to stay inside the Draveks mouth while he fired quills at it, causing the Dravek to shatter. With the danger having passed, the Highbreed states he could locate water on his own. The Highbreed's chest opens up and two purple tentacles burrow into the sand, which greatly disgusts Big Chill. The two continue on through Turrawuste, where after reaching a plateau Ben hears something. However the Highbreed states he heard nothing, except for Ben "which is the same as nothing". Ben sarcastically laughs, and the Highbreed proudly states he had grasped Ben's sense of humor. The ground then begins to rumble which Ben mistakes for more Draveks, however the Highbreed states it was worse as they were swarms of Dasypodidae. The Dasypodidae swarm over Ben and the Highbreed and bury them, so Ben transforms into Swampfire to fight them off. At first Swampfire is confident that he can easily dispatch of the critters, and blasts many using his fireballs. However wave after wave continue to arrive. Swampfire looks for an alternative and calls the Highbreed to higher ground. He then blasts the plateau and causes a landslide that wipes out the Dasypodidae. The Highbreed was almost caught in the landslide, but Swampfire has caught him by the arm. When the Highbreed discovers this he angrily pulls his arm away and continues to go on about how filthy Swampfire was. Finally fed-up Swampfire snaps at the Highbreed, demanding some respect after continuously saving his life. They finally end their argument with the Highbreed reestablishing the ten-paces behind rule. As night-falls, Swampfire points at a spot and says they would camp for the night, however the Highbreed disapproves and wishes to continue walking through the night. Swampfire continues to defy Highbreed and continues to proclaim they would camp for the night. A distant howling finally makes the Highbreed change his mind and he agrees to camp. Swampfire sets up a campfire before transforming back into Ben. Seeing the Highbreed still standing Ben invites him to come and sit down. The Highbreed refuses believing the heat source was intended to drain his strength, but Ben denies this and explains it's a human tradition. He tries once again to strike up conversation with the Highbreed, and finally succeeds in obtaining some personal information. Ben introduces himself as "Ben. Ben Tennyson" (causing the Highbreed to mistake his name for being "Ben-Ben Tennyson"). The Highbreed also state his name "Reinrassig III", however Ben resorts to calling him "Reiny", much to his dismay. Reiny also reveals why Highbreed sought to exterminate all life in the Universe, as they held very strong beliefs that Highbreed were the one true species and all others were therefore abominations. Ben is shocked by this revelation, but continues his attempts to bond with Reiny by saying he had an idea what it was like being someone else due to the Omnitrix allowing him to walk in the shows of other life-forms. However being compared to other species only further aggravates Reiny and animosity once again arises between the two. Reiny notices Ben showing signs of fatigue and offers to keep watch. No longer trusting Reiny, Ben declares he would take the first watch. Eventually Ben falls asleep and Reiny does take watch. He looks over at Ben and edges towards him. Ben awakens in time to see Reiny strike downwards at him, but as he braces for impact it's revealed he was actually attacking a Rodilia Dentia. After knocking it away, Reiny grabs onto the Rodilia Dentia, only for it to bite into him and amputate his hand. Ben asks Reiny if he can regenerate his hand, but he reveals he can't. Seeing Reiny in pain, Ben transforms into Swampfire again, and fastens Reiny's hand back on and wraps it in vines. In the process Reiny's hand is infused with Methanosian DNA and recovers. Swampfire transforms back into Ben and Reiny questions why Ben keeps helping him, to which Ben tells him he has hopes Reiny can change. Shortly afterwards the rock Ben is sitting on begins to shake, and it turns out to be yet another Dravek. Reiny gets pursued and calls Ben for help, to which he defeats it by throwing one of the burning sticks into its throat. Ben then says perhaps Reiny was right about walking at night. After finally reaching the teleporter pod, Reiny declares he is staying behind. Ben tries to reason with him, but Reiny continues preaching his beliefs of Highbreed purity and deems himself contaminated. Ben is disappointed, believing he had changed, to which Reiny agrees and states that he must now pay the price for changing by exiling himself. Ben enters the teleporter pod himself and meets up with Gwen and Kevin. They ask whether the Highbreed would be returning, to which he states that he doesn't think so. Noteworthy Events Major Events *We learn more about the Highbreed and their abilities. Character Debuts *Reinrassig III Minor Events *Echo Echo touches his Omnitrix symbol to transform back into Ben. This is the first time he has done this, having at all other instances only having to will his transformations back. His use of the symbol mirrors his future self in Ben 10,000. *It's finally explained why the Highbreed want to take the universe out. They were the first species to exist, and thus they believe that any non-pureblood species should be exterminated. Characters *Ben Tennyson *Gwen Tennyson *Kevin Levin *Reinrassig III (first appearance) Aliens Used *Echo Echo *Big Chill *Swampfire (x2) Quotes Naming and Translations Allusions *This episode was based on the 1985 movie Enemy Mine. *Reiny refering to Ben as Ben-Ben Tennyson is similar to Slartibartfast referring to Arthur Dent as "Dent-Arthur Dent" due to how he introduces himself in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Trivia *Echo Echo's voice in this episode is higher-pitched and the robotic filter is less prevalent. es:A solas con el enemigo Category:Ben 10: Alien Force Episodes Category:Ben 10: Alien Force Season Two Episodes Category:Episodes Category:Highbreed Arc Category:Episodes Written by Charlotte Fullerton Category:Episodes Directed by Butch Lukic